The prevention of back injuries in Swedish health care--a comparison between two models for action-oriented feedback. PROSA Study Group.

This paper considers two different models for action-oriented feedback designed to prevent back injuries in Swedish health care. Feedback was provided by physiotherapists/ergonomists from Occupational Health Services. The models tested were feedback to work groups, and feedback solely to supervisors. Both generated a considerable number of accident-prevention proposals. Proposals of supervisors were implemented to a greater extent. Supervisors tended to advocate training, while work groups were more concerned with improved technical aids. Otherwise, only minor differences were detected between the models in application. The active involvement promoted by feedback, in particular to work groups, was considerable.